BEIJING — The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.6 in August, down from 53.8 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Aug 31.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The sub-index for business activities in the construction industry stood at 56.5, down 2.7 percentage points from last month, but still remains in a relatively high expansion zone.

The construction sector maintained steady expansion in August, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe. Relevant sub-indices indicated rapid progress of infrastructure construction projects, growth of market demand and enterprises' positive expectations for the near future, Zhao said.

The service sector reported a slower recovery in August due to factors including the epidemic and high temperatures. The sub-index for business activities declined 0.9 percentage points from last month to 51.9, NBS data showed.

The sub-index for business activities was over 55 in the fields of accommodation and catering, monetary and financial services as well as telecommunications, radio, television and satellite transmission services, while the sub-index for real estate, leasing and business services and residential services was in the contraction zone.

The index measuring expectations for business activities of the non-manufacturing sector came in at 58.4 in August, reflecting enterprises' optimism about market recovery in the near future, said the NBS.

Construction companies were specially optimistic about the future development, with the sub-index for business expectations hitting 62.9 in August, up 1.9 percentage points from one month ago.

In the service sector, the sub-index for business expectations of companies in the fields of retail, railway transportation, postal services, internet software and information technology services as well as money and financial services also topped 60, the data showed.

The data on Aug 31 also showed that the PMI for China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.4 in August, up from 49 in July.